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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Sunday, 5 August 2012

I haven’t watched
TV3 for a very long time. During the weekend I found myself without my laptop
and I don’t own any I-pad either. So with nothing to do, I found myself having
to watch the propaganda mouthpiece of the UMNO/BN government.

What I saw confirmed
what I have been saying for a long time. It’s a one sided communication means
whereby the government of the day, because it can, by virtue of controlling the
federal government, spread lies and deliberate disinformation and cuckold the
minds of the public.

Immediately
you are bombarded with what UMNO and BN is doing. It is clear UMNO/BN does not
want an enlightened and informed public. What it wants is to glorify what
little achievements the PM accomplished- distributing zakat from the bank the government
owns (meaning if PR wins, it can do the same), frying murtabak here and distributing the delicacy to seemingly starving
people. Are we not ashamed to see so many people are poor in the PM’s backyard
and then we are subjected to his hypocritical speech about what Allah likes and
doesn’t like. it is just an elaborate PR exercise extolling the form rather
than substance.

Last night
news carried the plan by the UMNO government to form a commission for the
payment of royalty to the east coast states. Terengganu has already received
its royalty payments on the quiet side. It’s vested in the hands of the local
kingpin Mat Said. So the inclusion of Terengganu is just window dressing.

When Idris
Jusoh was MB, the Federal Government insulted the Terengganu people imputing
they don’t know how to manage the oil money by allowing Patrick Lim to decide where
the money should be applied. So the federal government conspired with crony capitalists
in building the facilities for the Monsoon Cup which do not benefit the Terengganu
people. They built mosques in nowhere places and constructed whatever structures
that can absorb the oil money which ended up in the hands of business cronies.

It’s the same
wine in a new bottle. Mat Said now controls the petroleum Ringgit and he determines
how they are applied. So he builds the near RM 100 million zoo somewhere in
Kemaman.

Truly, Terengganu
typifies what has been described as the curse of oil money. Oil was discovered in
the 1970’s in Terengganu but the state has one of the highest incidence of
poverty.

UMNO
politicians are truly two faced shameless liars. It has always been a legal
issue and the issue of what rightly belongs to people. It has always been a legal
issue concerning the right of a signatory to the PDA. The one who has been politicizing
the issue has been UMNO and BN.

UMNO is
lying to the Malays of Kelantan. It claims it fights for Malays- so my question
is why is UMNO discriminating against the Kelantan Malays who form probably 98%
of the population in Kelantan? The distribution of BR1M of RM 500 is an insult
to the Kelantanese, when on the same breadth; they are denied the receipt of oil
royalty. It’s a straightforward case of a legal entitlement. Kelantan is
entitled to the receipt of 5% royalty simpliciter
without having to bear any other qualifications.

What is strange
is the inclusion of my home state in the equation. How does Pahang find itself as
a potential recipient of oil royalty? If the state has oil, why has it been concealed
from the rakyat? Is Pahang entitled to oil royalties but because of the
rapacious greed of some quarters, Tun Razak decided to withhold the bounty from
Pahang because he feared the state will be robbed?

If it
qualifies as a recipient, the moneys are better committed to a Pahang sovereign
fund to prevent irresponsible and profligate applications of the oil money. I am
not confident to vest the money into the hands of legislators who year after
year justify Pahang’s deficit spending as a result of the state government
spending on poor people. My former colleagues in UMNO especially were quick to
use this kind of banal reasoning when justifying the perpetual budget deficits
of the state. During my stint as BN legislator I have always decried the budget
deficits fearing that they could be concealing wastage and financial indiscipline.
About the need to help the needy, the aged and the infirm, no one in his or her
right mind has any objections.

So UMNO doesn’t
have to be a farce about giving the oil royalty which is a legal entitlement. How
come the government, instead of spending public money on a RCI or whatever, NOT ask
the person who signed the agreement- Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to state whether Kelantan
or any other signatory to the agreement are indeed entitled. Please spare the
Malaysian public the ignominy of having to put up with your hypocrisy.

The other piece
of unworthy news was the small demonstration of a group of just about 20 people
lamenting the Penang government’s decision to develop a 0.5 hectare land( 1
plus are ) into a private hospital and other facilities instead of housing for
the poor.

How come
TV3 gave extensive coverage to Gerakan and pro BN spokespersons? Why was the government
scared of providing a balanced view by inviting spokespersons from the Penang government
to answer the allegations thrown at it? You are attacking a person without
giving him a chance to defend himself.

The truth
of the matter is perhaps the Penang government in its pro rakyat stand, has set
aside a far larger piece of land to build public housing for the people. On a 1
acre plus land, how many houses can be built. Not more than 20 units?

UMNO
government is subjecting the people to daily lies and grossly one sided views. Free
the people from this tyranny by giving them a right to fair reporting. We must
not put up with the mind enslaving tyranny any longer.

18
comments:

The saving grace is broadband. As each lie is exposed by alternative media aka Blogs and video streaming so an extra nail is driven into the BN casket.

Someone once said, "The heaviest restriction upon the freedom of public opinion is not the official censorship of the Press, but the unofficial censorship by a Press which exists not so much to express opinion as to manufacture it." For Press, read TV and Radio as well.

Here in Malaysia, we have a double whammy: there is both official censorship of the Press and unofficial censorship by the Press. It is a volatile formula inviting angry reaction from the public as widening income gap become obvious, between businesses in incestuous relationship with BN warlords on the one side, and hoi polloi, the lumpen proletariat and struggling marhaen, on the other.

No lies repeated a million times can change into truths no matter who utter them, be he the P.M. or the dustman.

Salam Dato', I have not watched or read the mainstream media for a very, very long time since the the contest between Mahathir and TR for the UMNO Presidency. The one reason for my hatred is the manner those in power and the media they own insult our intelligence with their daily propaganda and one sided reporting. We are being treated as stupid fools who can absorb their lies. But UMNO/BN has to resort to this method as how else can they cover their wrong doings. Furthermore, non of their leaders are capable of debating with the opposition leaders on any issues.

However, with alternative media easily accessible nowadays, UMNO/BN's days are numbered. People either compare reporting from both sides or simply shy away from the mainstream media in order to avoid feeling insulted. Even kampung folks have started to open their eyes on the excessive plundering by those in the corridor of power. It is just too much to stomach.

InsyaAllah we will see a new government post GE13 with a better Malaysia in every aspect. And I am looking forward to the new Government putting in place the fundamentals for free and balanced media reporting.

Dato,it has been a long time since Tv,radio and the mainstream media can be relied on true and professional reporting.They are screwups and without the backing of the Umno and siblings,they would have been shuttered a long time ago.

Some people would shunned them like the plague,even if they are distributed free.This time around the BN's mouthpieces have given the Mooty guy who dance and waltzed his way across the causeway a free pass.This thambi cannot be trusted even with his own cat.PR should avoid him like the plague too.

Anybody who will believed that Umno is for all Malays,must have his/her head just out of the lembus ass.Anybody who will believed that Umno is only for the priviledged and crony ball carriers are the ones who know how to think with their heads instead of their heels.

The people of Kelantan have been punished because they had shunned the Umno.They had their oil royalties channeled to Umno cronies piggy banks because they supported the PAS.

The people of Sabah and Sarawak have been punished to the extent that they have to live their lives in proverty,illiteracy and without the necccessary utilities such as piped water,sewage,gas,electricity and roads.This all happening in spite of supporting the Umno/BN.As a reward of supporting Umno/BN,Umno allowed the warlords to screwed their asses.

In Sabah and Sarawak,to Umno it doesn't matter whether the coin landed on heads or tails.Either ways the Sabahans and Sarawakians have to bend over.The only way out for them to have better lives and future is to flushed Umno/BN down the toilet.

The media did the same thing in 2008 and what happened. It lost five states and its 2/3 majority in parliament.TV3 and Utusan propaganda is meant for the stupid, gullible Malays in the heartland.Their educated children should take the responsibility of 'teaching' their parents on how to vote.

I concur with you. I havent spent time on free-to-air tv for many many years now. Even if it was out of boredom, the internet still fulfills all my daily news (esp. international news) consumption AND it is updated frequently. With the internet and mobile broadband, coupled with gadgets like tablets/smartphones, there is really no need to indulge in the heavily propaganda free-to-air tv. With such powerful reach now of the mobile broadband, I always wonder why the opposition has not vested more infra and content using this channel. Creating an app these days for real time on line news, is as easy as buying nasi lemak.

Its interesting to note that the govt is giving away free netbooks to poor students all over Malaysia (with cronies making money from this deal, of course). Its got wi-fi and 3G capabilities build in. So I would have thought that the opposition would have capitalised on these and created simple apps for real time updated news to be fed into these devices. Many blogs and news content like this blog is already in bilingual. This is a very powerful channel as the govt gave these devices to poor students in rural areas. There also wont the the lack of advertisers who will support such targeted demographic reach, to support this business venture. Hence, balanced real time digital news is directed to these audience without delay and censorship. Imagine the total audience viewership reach this new tool can provide for the opposition? And this demographic is the huge gap left unfulfilled by the opposition thus far.

Perhaps the opposition should take advantage of this tool and channel to broaden its reach directly. Otherwise, these rural students are just going to play Angry Birds or sell it off, without fully utilising it. There will be no shortage of IT savvy people who will assist the opposition to support and enhance this new direct-to-rural-consumer channel.

Imagine for example, the Selangor state govt broadcasting live clips of all the reservoirs in the state to show that it is filled to the brim with water or the state of affairs of the water treatment plant and their lack of maintenance by SYABAS. If these were really true, these are worthy public service journalistic news items worth the dissemination. Real time. Once these sort of unbiased content is provided, other news media will pick up and rebroadcast from there. This is short of having a 'citizens news network feed' in the similar vein to the CNN iReport. While Youtube currently has its own private content recording and dissemination on everything from cat farting to local cops beating up hotel clerks for ice cream recordings, local news should ideally be aggregated and redistributed to be more effective. Not many people outside urban areas are IT literate and gadget savvy. So providing 'idiot-proof' news app is one way to go.....

As a Malaysian I simply don't understand why we are GIVEN THIS AND THAT ONCE EVERY 5 YEARS WHEN WE HAVE 5 YEARS IN BETWEEN TO EXCERCISE ALL THAT WE ARE ENTITLED. ..

IT BOGLES THE MIND THAT JUST BEFORE EVERY ELECTION THE RAKYAT ARE SUDDENLY SHOWER WITH GOODIES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED EARLIER...

BRAIN WASHING?? GIVE ME THE FUNDAMENTALS ANYTIME...RIGHT EDUCATION...WE WANT ENGLISH SO THAT WE ARE MORE KNOWLEDGABLE AND CAN STAND ON OUR ON FEET...

WE WANT TO BE STRONG WITH THE BRAINS GOD GAVE US...WE ARE NOT CACAT. ..WHEN THE SUDDEN GOODIES DROP FROM THE SKY. ..WHICH THE BN IS DOING, PEOPLE...WAKE UP!! BN IS ACTUALLY TAKING MORE FROM YOU THAN YOU REALISED!!

the sad reality is these UMNO media has a ready audience among the rural malays.who blindly accept all the poisons spew by these media.

i use to see an old macik ( she must be in her 70s) every sunday selling some foodstuffs at the pasar tani. she use to glorify UMNO to the people around her, be they fellow traders or customers.

a sense of sadness hit me. at her age she should be enjoying her time with her grandkids, but here she is sitting by the road shoulders for 5 to 6 hours trying to earn a few ringgit, whereas those well connected politiciansshe glorify need not even lift a finger, thousands and millions of ringgit will come to them.

it is this ignorant people that these politicians capitalized on to get the votes they need to continue enriching themselves at their expense.

On a lower level, I'd already been very put off by the way the news readers on RTM and UMNO-controlled channels present news.

Instead of speaking in a neutral manner and concentrating on speaking clearly, some even resorted to shaking their heads and using scolding tones as they presented some item which was clearly anti-Pakatan.

It is bad enough that the text is already grossly slanted, with words chosen for maximum propaganda effect.

As was suggested by someone some time ago, the nominal PR leader in each State should be responsible for getting their members to post photos of the houses/mansions belonging to all their respective Aduns/MPs so that the public may know in a simple graphic way who cares most for the public. First on the list, the palaces of Mahathir and his children. Re-post Khir Toyo's post-modern pondok. While Western lifestyle is often condemned, some UMNO politicians now feel extremely uncomfortable driving Proton Perdana, especially those who own mansions with ornate gazebos. Great lives for a select priviliged few!

All the TV stations have so far felt it unnecessry to advertise the success of these Melayu Baru for obvious reasons. They don't bet an eye-lid, however, to screen events of smiling UMNO top-bulls handing out Hari Raya goodies to old folks, orphans, the handicapped, etc.

Dato' such is the tyranny of power in the wrong hands. Such is the injustice of a social agenda blighted by greed and entrenched paradigm of the winner-takes-all ethos. Specific tell-all episodes or events are often conveniently hidden from the public through selective, partial editorial stewardship.

No one can commit corruption to do more harm to the country than by those who feel it is their birth right to be corrupt and to be untouchable by the laws of the nation.

I watch Aljazeera for serious news and Tom & Jerry to feel light and easy.

A wise government will welcome criticism not praise. Having media that only trumpet minor deeds fit for kids while glossing over massive misdeeds destroying the economic fabric of this country means the government intends to continue cheating citizens of their right to know the truth of what has been done to them and the country.

The only reason why such a government would want to do so is because its political party leaders say so. The only reason they say so is because they want to protect their own interest and survival.

Where we all are today is the complete erasure of all faith and trust in the integrity of Umno and its media. Citizens and voters who know what has been going on behind their backs have turned off and walked away. Those who don't just turn up for the kuih-muih and door gifts; after all, it's indirectly their money spent frivolously.

Any acceptance of Umno as a party of choice is turning into total and unmitigated disgust fueled every day by what Umno leaders themselves say and do as exposed by the better-informed and more people-sensitive alternative media.

Ask yourselves what has happened to us. In your earlier years, you would read the editorial columns of the newspapers in the hope of getting a balanced view on issues. Now? Only yesterday's crime cases for insights on what precautions next to take today.

And if you turn on the television to watch the news, the first thing noticed is the body language of the newscasters. No matter how they try, they cannot avoid disclosing that they themselves know they are doing grave injustice to their audience like how a salesperson would still wax about an expired product while complaints already made are spilling out of the drawer beneath the counter.

Since this is our fasting month, feast yourselves on Umno's hypocrisy for a change.

Kelantan has been denied its birthright to oil royalty since the days of the pharaoh. And i don't mean egyptian. This pharaoh defends his interests by putting on an air of defending Umno. It is the same Umno that is of TRH of Gua Musang and Mustapa of Miti, both now trying to turn the tables on Pas.

Will all three answer two simple questions for all the simple-minded Malay folks in Malaysia during this fasting month since they belong to an Umno that says it is for the Malays? One, why has Kelantan not been given its oil royalty since oil was mined, and two, why is it only now that Najib says a special committee will be formed to consider oil royalty for our east coast states?

Assuredly, they will have no answer, even if Umno's Saifuddin Abdullah is trying to cast his party in more hallowed light. They're just too chicken to admit they are doing it to try and turn sentiments on their craven cruelty to the peoples of those states all these years.

Similarly, why is it only now that Najib is flying to Sabah to pow-wow on an RCI on Project IC? Could it be because he knows Umno's power hold on that state is going to be loosened by the citizens of Sabah now up in arms against treasonous intrusion of foreigners given instant citizenship to serve only the political benefit of BN in Sabah? Or is it because he knows the whole process can be prolonged until after GE13 whereupon the Umno media and payoffs will bury the issue as has been done with countless other national issues over the entire shambolic syndicated reign of Umno?

If a government is supposed to watch over the citizens, who will be watching over the government? As we all know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ask Mahathir.

In our case, it cannot be the mainstream media because every single one of them has been made accomplice to hiding the misdeeds of the present government in Putrajaya. And it cannot be the federal institutions like the AG Office, MACC, even BNM these days because they have been made puppets to such a government. And it cannot be the EC, good for showing how partisan, inefficient and reactive it is when it should be independent and proactive.

So who can the rakyat of Malaysia depend for clean, efficient and trustworthy government after the next general election? The same Umno that had raised water crisis one day and denies itself another?

The big cancer that is Umno has metastatized. Before it consumes the whole body, cut it out and move on.

This national day, boycott ALL of Umno's propaganda. That's the least you can do to stem Malaysia from becoming a 'paper-lama' country.

divide n rule lah--BN is the expert in robbing the rakyat 00 take oil from the STATE n give peanuts - what -- wang ehsan -- what is that>> ha ha hi hi --KELANTAN N TRENGGANU are the poorest STATES--whyy??

Salam Dato'... Eventho' this piece was done a while back before I managed to read because I'm new to your blog, I find it very interesting and true to my own belief. Eventhough I was not taught in the foreign land, I find the idea and concept of Freedom of the Press quite tantalizing. I think, the media, given full freedom, can be the determiner of popular opinion in any incident involving the government and the rakyat. Free media means that anyone can own a newspaper, tv or radio station and report anything not slanderous to the public. Some people are afraid of this as it would mean that their antics are being watched. People here would definitely mean UMNO. UMNO uses the 'sensitivity to race or religion' card to uphold this belief. To protect the country from disharmony. America defends this policy and has proved that media are responsible in keeping the country safeguarded from corruption and inequalities. After years of independence, we still depend on RTM, Utusan, BH and even Astro to voice UMNO's propaganda. UMNO is out of time because citizens are now aware of the deception and their credibility are almost nil. As a friend of mine puts it, I only read a paper to know about sports. However, to a regular villager for e.g. TV3 is still their main source of information, denied the ability to own a pc or handle one, therefore its hard to get the right news. If we are to be an advanced nation by 2020, this clamp on media will definitely be a shameful existence. Whether they like it or not, free press or media will be around. It's only a matter of time. Once free media is available, all cock and bull story concocted by BN, will be encountered and their edge over the Opposition will be over. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Pahang has its own newspaper and handled by Pahangites? We will be able to focus and highlight all news of corruption in this state. We can also discuss relevant issues in Pahang that needs addressing. Sons and Daughters of Pahang will be the new hero, unlike now where no one knows the person beyond his kampung or town. Is this what they call 'divide and rule'? As a Pahangite that has lived half of a century, I feel sad that we are still behind to other states, at least in the Peninsula, in term of development and economic well being. Hopefully, if PR takes over, free media will be all over the country and we will be more developed than we are now. Some UMNO guys have debated with me about the menace of free media. I told them there's nothing to be afraid of as we are now experiencing it without us knowing it; the internet is as free as it can be and the country has not gone haywire except UMNO. Freedom of media will mean that every citizen will be well informed and feel more devoted to the country and has a sense of belonging to the progress of the nation.